09. 12. 2005

“SOMBORSKE” WITHOUT THE MANAGER

SOMBOR, December 9, 2005 – The Friday edition of the “Somborske novosti” omitted the name of the director of this newspaper. Sava Kovcin, one of the candidates for the director of this local newspaper, told the media yesterday that, although the competition ended on October 22, he had never been notified of the outcome. Kovcin strongly believed the competition was prearranged, and that the Municipal Council as the founder of the newspapers was not aware of this public company’s affairs. Kovcin, currently unemployed, had been working for over 20 years in the Information Center, incorporating the “Somborske Novine” and Radio Sombor. He applied for the available position of the director of the newspapers, together with another applicant who, according to Kovcin, suddenly decided to withdraw from the competition. Kovcin distributed to journalists the copies of the minutes from the Somborske managing board meeting, held on November 8, which showed Kovcin as the only candidate who had met all the prerequisites, but “the members of the Managing Board sited the appointment of new director with a four-year term would be pointless before the privatisation of this public company”, and decided not to go on with the competition. At the same meeting, the Managing Board decided to accept the resignation of the current acting director Sasa Torlakovic, who was then appointed as the chief of West Banat region. The Managing Board also decided to appoint its chairman as a person in charge until the election of a new acting director. Kovcin pointed out that the term of the acting editor-in-chief Isa Basaric ended on December 2. On November 8, the Managing Board had proposed to the Sombor Municipal Council the appointment of Basaric, as the only applicant, as editor-in-chief.